Titanium aluminide intermetallic alloy materials (i.e., typically TiAl, TiAl3, or Ti3Al) are generally known for their superior mechanical resilience at elevated temperatures. In particular, the titanium aluminide intermetallic alloys (i.e., Ti—Al intermetallic alloys) are generally more attractive for extreme temperature applications (e.g., hypersonic aircraft, gas turbines, and the like) than the non-intermetallic titanium aluminum alloys, hereinafter referred to as “titanium-aluminum alloys” or “titanium alloys”. The reason for this is based primarily on the distinct compositional and microstructural characteristics of the Ti—Al intermetallic alloys as compared to the titanium alloys.
However, though the Ti—Al intermetallic alloys are superior in mechanical resilience, their poor wear-resistance has drastically limited their use to non-wear or low-wear conditions. For this reason, Ti—Al intermetallic alloys have not generally been applied to critical high-wear situations which would otherwise benefit from the superior mechanical resilience of these alloys. Therefore, there is an ongoing effort to produce Ti—Al intermetallic alloys having an improved wear resistance.
It is generally known to produce a non-intermetallic titanium alloy (e.g., Ti-6Al-4V) with improved wear resistance by treating the titanium alloy by a heating process in the presence of air in order to incorporate an oxygen-diffused (OD) layer thereon. However, the process used for the titanium alloys has thus far not been successful for the Ti—Al intermetallic alloys since the conditions generally employed for producing an OD layer on the titanium alloys are incapable of producing an OD layer on the Ti—Al intermetallic alloys.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method capable of producing Ti—Al intermetallic alloys with an improved wear resistance. The resulting wear-resistant Ti—Al intermetallic alloys would advantageously no longer be limited to low-wear or no-wear applications, but rather, completely applicable to high-temperature and high-wear applications, where they are particularly needed.